Do Not Imitate Evil But Imitate Good
“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”
It is interesting that John has to tell us to imitate good after having said “do not imitate evil.” It is not obvious that we would imitate good because we don’t imitate evil. The New Testament always encourages us with the positive, rather than leaving us with the negative. We see this is in all the “put off, put on” commands. The Ten Commandments imply the opposite of all the negative prohibitions. For instance, “you shall not murder” does not simply mean “don’t murder.” It means you must seek the well-being and good of your neighbor in every possible way. This is how we must read God’s Law.
The theme of 3 John is remaining steadfast in the face of opposition. This is one of the hardest things to do, especially in the church. Those who are directly or insidiously confrontational are in error, and they sin against God and his people. There are always wolves in the local church seeking to draw away God’s people from the church and the faith. The Apostle John even comments on those who go out from among us in 1 John 2:19. He says they leave the local church because “they are not of us.” This is a frightening thing. Apart from the doctrinal ramifications, this is a bold assertion by John. Who would want to leave a local church where people love the Lord and each other, the Word is preached and the ordinances are observed? Only those who don’t believe the Scriptures or those who have set themselves up as leaders. This is the problem in 3 John. John is writing to Gaius who faces opposition from a man called Diotrephes. Diotrephes is characterized as one who“likes to put himself first” and who does not acknowledge the authority of John (and Gaius probably). According to verse 10, John will deal with his behavior of speaking “wicked nonsense” and refusing to welcome the saints, and not allowing others to do so. He then puts them out of the church. This is a problem with authority.
Those who leave churches don’t like authority. They change their minds continually. As long as things go their way, they’re okay, but any opposition or disagreement with them causes them to accuse the church and its leaders of not caring or being concerned. Instead of humbling themselves and being servant-like, they stir up trouble. These things always happen in churches, and elders are especially warned to deal with such issues. However, if a church does not preach the truth, then you should really have nothing to do with that church.
We all have responsibilities to a local church. We are accountable to one another—to love and serve one another. Those who don’t want to be accountable stir up trouble and leave. John is writing to Gaius to tell him that he will exercise a strong hand against Diotrephes. Now the solution to these kinds of problems which are“evil” is to “imitate good.” A local church is a covenant community of God’s people who have covenanted before the Lord and among themselves that they are God’s people. Therefore, they are bound to each other. True faith exhibits itself in godly actions among the saints.
The actions of Diotrephes were those of a wolf. Wolves are sheep stealers and sheep killers. Wolves are predators, always hunting and always killing. Paul paints the picture in Acts 20 for the Ephesian elders as he bids them goodbye: “for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:27–30).
The Apostle John is thinking along the same lines. He is concerned for Gaius and the flock. He recognizes the wolf among them. Gaius loved the church. He welcomed visiting missionaries (vv. 5–8). Such welcome was evidence of belonging to the truth, of loving the truth, and of walking in the truth (vv. 3, 8). Diotrephes hated those who came and hated those who helped them. He was like this was because he liked “to put himself first” (vs. 9). He liked the spotlight. He liked the pre-eminent place.
It almost seems unimaginable that there should be people like this in a church, but there are. They get very upset if they are not looked after or don’t receive the attention they believe they should. They have severe problems with submission. Diotrephes refused to acknowledge the Apostle John’s authority (vs. 9). God takes a serious view of this. John says that whoever does evil (like Diotrephes) has not seen God (vs. 11). John urges Gaius not to follow Diotrephes—don’t imitate evil.
The church is not the place to satisfy personal ambition. The church is not the place to conduct business affairs. The church is not the place to demonstrate personal power. Rather, the church is to be filled with people who lower themselves. It is the place for yielding to Christ’s authority. It is the place for worship among fellow believers—those who walk in the truth. It requires and recognizes humility. A willingness to serve and love regardless of place, prestige, or power is what our Lord delights in. It is the place to “imitate good.” It is the place to demonstrate loyalty to Jesus, to his Word, and to one another. Lack of loyalty is common among people today. If the church doesn’t suit them they just pack up their bags and off they go. These people will never be satisfied.
We are to “imitate good” because God is good (Ps. 25:8; 34:8; 86:5; 100:5). The word “imitate” suggests mimicry, but it is not a mere act that John refers to. That is what the wolf does. John means that we must portray or show ourselves to be good. We must follow that which is good. He means that we must behave in the same way as those we are following or imitating. Good behavior is godly behavior. Verse 11 states that “whoever does good is from God.” This is a reference to a Christian. Any good that we do is derived from God himself and must conform to God’s revealed will. This is why God gets the glory and we don’t. Diotrephes was seeking glory, but it was not God’s. The standard of good is God himself. Whatever or whoever does not conform to God cannot be good or do any good.
The Christian church is plagued with abuse of authority and lack of submission. The antidote for all pride is humility. Humility is the mortifying of all pride. Augustine said: “it was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” Matthew Henry said: “When we take the least notice of our good deeds ourselves, then God takes the most notice of them.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: “the very essence of the whole Christian life is to realize two things: I must have complete and absolute confidence in God and no confidence in myself.”
Self-recognition is devilish. That’s what Satan did. That’s what Diotrephes did. It is evil and we must not imitate it. We must follow after that which is good, that which belongs to God. Let us recognize each other before ourselves. It is the way to love and service. It is the way of self-sacrifice, and, thus, is the way of being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. As George Whitefield said: “let my name be forgotten and trodden under the feet of men, so that Jesus may be glorified.”